Mike's Blog: 2015

Thursday, December 31, 2015

Poker: End of Year Financial results for 2015

Overall results for the year -$ 404.26

Results break down as follows:

Cash results (-$ 241.09)
8-Game                              +$ 28.52
NL Holdem       ($0.10) 4365 hands -$ 30.23
NL Holdem       ($0.25) 2307 hands -$226.48
NL Holdem Zoom ($0.25)   79 hands +$ 12.54
PLO             ($0.10) 2326 hands -$ 99.76
PLO             ($0.25) 2185 hands +$ 89.59
NLO8 Zoom       ($0.02) 7041 hands -$ 3.83
NLO8 Zoom       ($0.05)   90 hands -$ 8.51
NLO8 Zoom       ($0.10) 762 hands -$ 2.93

2-7 + 43.46
Limit HE - 12.86
Ohl - 1.41
Razz + 7.61
Stud + 5.21
Stud HL + 3.17
NLHE + 18.32
PLO - 34.98

Tournament Results (-$ 163.17)
STT x92 -$ 228.65
STT Micromillions+EPT +$ 13.31

MTT x54 -$ 44.73
MTT EPT+MicroMillions+SCOOP+WCOOP+UKIPT +$ 96.90

Reflect
For my cash results, apart from a mad July for my NLHE cash, my results weren't bad really :) August was also a relatively bad month, but not too bad overall, and since October have not played an awful lot. I'm pleased with my 8-Game cash results as I seem to be fairly consistent. The NLO8 Zoom is also getting more consitant, mostly as I have learnt to fold more when shoved into on the river :) Hold'em cash was OK apart from July/August and PLO was fine for the year really. I've not got a huge bankroll still, but am tempted to go back to my old cash routine and get back to playing NLHE and PLO sessions. Having said that, getting time to play is likely to be the biggest problem for the coming year !

My tournament results are a bit more mixed. I seemed to go through a phase were I couldn't win an STT, but since dropping down and changing the format, seem to be having more success. I'd really like to play more MTT, but again time is going to be the issue.... even more so.

Although we're selling up the Bognor flat, my changing jobs will throw a spanner in the works for my Poker schedule. Jan/Feb should be relatively OK, but March onwards is really unknown quantity at the moment.

Comparing results to my Strategic Objectives for 2015

* Work more on my game to be able to break even on NLHE and PLO cash games
NLHE - didn't achieve, although without 2 key hands (where I lost full £100 buy-ins both times), it would have been a different story. Perhaps I shouldn't be so hard on myself, apart from playing a bit too high for my budget
PLO - $10 loss over 4500 hands is effectively break even, so happy with that
NLO8 - broke even over 7000 hands, so good result
8-Game - also a break even over decent number of hands

Overall OK but could do better

* Don't play Mobile ZOOM
Didn't manage to avoid this :) The main reason for this was due to my keep loosing. As I'm now improving my game, I can be a bit more relaxed about it

* Try to play MTT more regularly
Played quite a few over the year in the end, but not as many as I would have liked.

* Commit only to the SCOOP and MicroMillions online festivals
Almost managed it :) Made a small profit on SCOOP, small loss on MicroMillions and decent return on TCOOP (which wasn't in the plan :) )

* Only try EPTs when have got previous months profits
Did get a decent win in TCOOP which I put towards the EPT sats, so yes adhered to this objective :)

Strategic Objectives for 2016
* Work more on my game to be able to break even on all cash games
* Commit only to the TCOOP, SCOOP and MicroMillions online festivals
* Only try EPTs when have got previous months profits

Poker: Financial results for December 2015

Plan
Monthly target was:
- Play 3 session of 8 Game cash with target of breaking even
- Play 16 STT with target of breaking even

Monitor
Overall results for the month:-

Pokerstars : +$ 18.01
Live play : -£ 0.00

Pokerstars results break down as follows:

Cash results (+$ 20.19)
NLO8 Zoom         ($0.02) 2206 hands -$ 2.53
8-Game            ($0.40)   94 hands +$ 10.18
NL Holdem Zoom    ($0.25)   79 hands +$ 12.54

2-7 + 0.51
Limit HE + 0.04
Ohl + 0.21
Razz + 2.99
Stud + 1.70
Stud HL - 3.64
NLHE + 7.57
PLO + 0.80

Tournament Results (-$ 2.18)
3x STT (9 seat) -$ 2.18 (1 cashes)

Reflect
I didn't really play all that much this month, mostly grabbing half hour here and there on my mobile ! What I did play was OK, having a decent session on 8-Game and cashing in one of the three 9 seat STT games I played. My NL O8 game seems to be improving, being only 1 buy-in down after over 2000 hands in the month! Feel I am playing better than my results still, but time will tell

January 2016 Targets will be:
- Play 3 session of 8 Game cash with target of breaking even
- Play 10 STT with target of breaking even

Strategic Objectives for 2015
* Work more on my game to be able to break even on NLHE and PLO cash games
* Don't play Mobile ZOOM
* Try to play MTT more regularly
* Commit only to the SCOOP and MicroMillions online festivals
* Only try EPTs when have got previous months profits

Wednesday, December 02, 2015

Poker: Financial results for November 2015

Plan
Monthly target was:
- Play 3 session of 8 Game cash with target of breaking even
- Play 16 STT with target of breaking even

Monitor
Overall results for the month:-

Pokerstars : +$ 18.55
Live play : -£ 0.00

Pokerstars results break down as follows:

Cash results (+$ 12.94)
NLO8 Zoom ($0.02) 768 hands +$ 4.76
8-Game ($0.40) 418 hands +$ 8.18

2-7 + 12.17
Limit HE + 0.78
Ohl - 14.06
Razz + 5.30
Stud - 1.76
Stud HL + 8.11
NLHE + 7.20
PLO - 9.56

Tournament Results (+$ 5.61)
4x STT (9 seat) +$ 5.61 (3 cashes)

Reflect
My cash results are looking pretty much on target and am happy with my play. The YTD results for 8-Game and O8 are pretty reasonable as well, so hope the trend will continue. Need to make sure i dont get complacent and loosen up my game though! My PLO in the 8-Game hasn't been great financial results the last couple of months, although I'm mostly happy with the hands making up this loss

Although still a small sample, the STT results are well above expectation. Really must try to play more STT and some MTT as well

December might be tricky month to get more play in though as lots going on with flat sale, finding a new job and everything else...... !

December 2015 Targets will be:
- Play 3 session of 8 Game cash with target of breaking even
- Play 10 STT with target of breaking even

Sunday, November 01, 2015

Poker: Financial results for October 2015

Plan
Monthly target was:
- Play 3 session of 8 Game cash with target of breaking even
- Play 16 STT with target of breaking even

Monitor
Overall results for the month:-

Pokerstars : -$ 14.60
Live play : -£ 43.00

Pokerstars results break down as follows:

Cash results (-$ 22.49)
NLO8 Zoom ($0.02) 783 hands -$ 0.55
8-Game ($0.40) 767 hands -$ 21.94

2-7 - 7.17
Limit HE + 5.83
Ohl - 1.61
Razz - 6.86
Stud - 3.32
Stud HL + 6.36
NLHE + 2.75
PLO -17.92

Tournament Results (+$ 7.89)
11x STT (9 seat) +$ 7.89 (5 cashes)

Reflect
I'm overall pleased with my cash results. I shouldn't really play Mobile Zoom, but my game is getting better and it allows me to blow off some steam sometimes :) The 8-Game overall isn't too bad, apart from my PLO... which was probably one or two hands only. I have the ability to review my hands now and am working on getting all elements of the 8 Games a bit more under control. The STT results are much better than they should be statistically and are a lot of fun, so will try to continue for another month before deciding if I should move up.

My live game was a little disappointing. I never really got going, and when blinds were such I had 20 BB stack and I got a bit busy, I lost a flip, rebought then missed a draw for my stack and was out in two hands :) At least I got an early night...

November will be more of the same, staying well within my bankroll management restrictions and hoping to start building it up

November 2014 Targets :
- Play 3 session of 8 Game cash with target of breaking even
- Play 16 STT with target of breaking even

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Poker: Financial results for September 2015

Plan
Monthly target was:
- Play 400 cash hands on NLHE $0.05 Full Ring (2 table) with target of breaking even
- Play 400 cash hands on PLO $0.05 6-max (2 table) with target of breaking even
- Play 1 session of 8 Game cash with target of breaking even
- Play 4 MTT with target of breaking even

Monitor
Overall results for the month:-

Pokerstars : +$ 13.50
Live play : -£ 0.00

Pokerstars results break down as follows:

Cash results (+$ 1.59)
NLO8 Zoom ($0.02) 483 hands +$ 1.59

Tournament Results (+$ 11.91)
6x STT (9 seat) +$ 11.91 (4 cashes)

Reflect
September was a bit muted and low volume, partly due to being in Bognor a lot, but mostly as my bankroll was decimated ! I decided to focus more on my STT (9 seat) game, so started playing $1.50 tables. Albeit at very low volume so far, I am doing OK so far :) Of the few times I've played, most sessions have been on my mobile, so all the cash is exclusively NLO8 Mobile Zoom! I seem to be getting the hang of folding when I know I'm beat now, so results are improved as well ;)

Next month will be more of the same most likely, although my bankroll will be improved slightly. I enjoy playing all the game types, but feel I need to specialize a little more, at least for the moment. Will try sticking to STT mostly, but play 8-Game cash when I feel like a change.

October 2014 Targets will be :
- Play 4 session of 8 Game cash with target of breaking even
- Play 16 STT with target of breaking even

Monday, September 28, 2015

Holiday: Bognor–September 2015

OK, so Mid-September isn’t likely to be the best weather, but was a bit restricted by work for which dates were available… so we’re off to Sunny Bognor for our last summer holiday of the year Smile

Friday 18th September

Unlike previous holidays, we’re going down the Friday night at the start of the holiday. Having got used to being down in Bognor before the start of a holiday, it seems a bit weird to pack and travel to go on holiday now ! We leave the house after dinner and arrive in Bognor around 8pm. Unpack and in the Waverley by 8:30pm Smile Seems England are playing Rugby (or something)…..

Saturday 19th September

Had our morning coffee in the flat and out for a walk by 11am ! Went to the library and ended up buying about 8 books for £1.. that’ll give us something to read on the beach Smile

Walking back along the promenade there was a live band “The Daytonas” playing on the bandstand (For Bognorphenia event) and were pretty good so sat on the beach and listened for a while, at least until we got hungry for our lunch.

It’s a lovely sunny day, so stop for a Bacon Butty at the Aldwick Beach Cafe. We then decide to get our Sun lotion on then have the rest of the afternoon on the beach.

Got back to the flat in time to watch Qualifying, then went out for a Fish & Chip dinner. After our evening walk, get back to the flat to watch X-Factor Smile

Sunday 20th September

Woke to another brilliant sunshine day. Went out around 11am and stopped at Ford Sunday market. Had a good look around, but didn’t buy anything (for a change) Then went onto Arundel. Had a nice walk and went to Swanbourne Lake where we ate our picnic lunch.

Then had a cup of tea in the Putting Green Tea Room. They do lovely looking cakes, but am saving myself, as after walking around Arundel, go off to Amberley Village Tea room, as Steve and Sarah made it sound so nice Smile Had a lovely cuppa and cake there, so worth the effort.

Managed to get back to flat in time to watch Grand Prix as well, for a well earned rest!

Monday 21st September

Up early, as we’re having our coffee at 10:15am (Think Lynn woke up early as it’s a “Shopping Day” today Winking smile ) On way out we stop off at Apple Barn Furniture (only because we’d not stopped there before) Had a good look at their range of furniture , but ended up buying some more second hand books of all things! Then went to Retail Park outside Chichester (mainly as we’d not been there before) and had a good look around there as well… but only managed to buy a bottle opener and some kitchen scissors !

Eventually arrived in Chichester City Centre, where the first task was to find somewhere for lunch…. especially as it’s drizzling now. We decide to go for a burger in Real Burger Kitchen which was very nice.

After lunch we walked round and looked in all the shops, trying to keep out of the drizzle as much as possible. Had our mid afternoon snack in M&S of course, followed by more shopping.

Went to Sainsbury on way back to ensure we don’t run out of food or drink for our holiday week. We’re feeling worn out, so a quiet evening in front of the TV tonight

Tuesday 22nd September

Sat and had a relax until lunch time. As it’s another dull, drizzly day we decide to go to Emsworth (saw advert for British Food Fortnight being held there Smile Sadly wasn’t any events on when we got there) Had a walk around in the drizzle. Was a bit windy by the harbour, so stayed around town.

Found a lovely cake shop, Heidi’s Patisserie where we had a nice rest and tea/cake (of course Winking smile ) Drove the long way back, via The Witterings, just to see what’s there (not a lot as it turned out) and then back to the flat. Out for dinner at The Regis (Brewers Fayre) tonight

Wednesday 23rd September

Bright and Sunny morning today. Had coffee then left flat around 11am, with idea to have an hours walk before lunch. Halfway round, one of us mentioned Pagham Beach cafe and as we were heading that way of course we had to then walk all the way over and have a nice lunch there.

Had long walk back via Rose Green where we found another great tea room, “Nice and Tasty”. I had both a Victoria Sponge AND a cream Scone, so was feeling a bit full after…. luckily still had some walking to do in order to wear some off!

Back at the flat, feeling worn out but full Smile

Thursday 24th September

Had our coffee then got onto the free bus to Sainsbury at 11am Walked around Bersted, although not much to see really. Couldn’t find a park/bench to have lunch, so just sat on a grass knoll in a quiet road. Was OK spot as nice and sunny.

After lunch we popped into Royal Oak (aka Pink Pub) for a rest and drink.

Walked back in a roundabout route to Bognor Town Centre so we could get our cup of tea and cake on the Sea Front.

Had been cloudless sunny day all the way round, until just before we got back to the flat when the heavens opened ! Managed to get into a shelter on the sea front so we didn’t get soaked. After about 10 mins, the rain disappeared and the sun came out again! Had a rest back at the flat until Dinner time. Its Curry night at the Hatters Inn which we’ve enjoyed before. Turns out they’ve changed the recipe so for me was a little disappointing Sad smile They do a good range of beers though Smile

Friday 24th September

Out of bed by 10:25am as we’re off out for our Macmillan coffee morning. Beautiful sunny day, so get our picnic lunch prepared and take it to the beach.

Lovely lunch and rest on the beach for a few hours, then go back to flat for a cup of tea in the garden. Go for a walk up to Hotham Park and see the preparations for the Folk Festival which starts today, but seems to properly kick off tomorrow…. so we just have a cup of tea and cake in the Park Cafe Smile Have a lovely walk back in the sun along the Promenade, then have a rest before we go out for dinner at the Fayre and Square

Saturday 25th September

The good thing about not having to vacate a holiday apartment/hotel is that we can declare the holiday over whenever we like…. so this weekend we’re still “officially” on holiday Smile

Watched qualifying for Japanese Grand Prix then had lunch at the flat. Walked through town to see what’s happening for the Folk Festival and ended up back at Hotham Park, where there are loads of stalls and couple of music stages in action.

Had a cup of tea before walking back the long way round and don’t get back to the flat until 5:30pm so we’re worn out again. Order in Pizza and watch Strictly tonight (we lead such a Rock & Roll lifestyle Smile )

Sunday 26th September

Sunny again, so we’re off to the beach for the morning. Not exactly warm (not too bad though) so its more a case of relaxing on the beach than swimming.

Back to the flat for lunch and watched the Grand Prix, then have a nice walk to stretch the legs and end up back at Hotham Park again to see the stalls, music again from the Folk Festival. Cakes are half price so did buy a couple Smile The day has flown by and it’s back to the normal Sunday evening routine as I’m back at work tomorrow. Still, it has been a lovely relaxing holiday and can still look forward to some sunny days at Bognor before we have to go back to the house.

Monday, September 07, 2015

Poker: Financial results for August 2015

Plan
Monthly target was:
- Play 400 cash hands on NLHE $0.10 Full Ring (2 table) with target of breaking even
- Play 400 cash hands on PLO $0.25 6-max (2 table) with target of breaking even
- Play 1 session of 8 Game cash with target of breaking even
- Play 4 MTT with target of breaking even

Monitor
Overall results for the month:-

Pokerstars : -$ 132.56
Live play : -£ 0.00

Pokerstars results break down as follows:

Cash results (-$ 111.64)
NLHE             ($0.10)   834 hands -$ 43.36
PLO              ($0.25)   204 hands -$ 68.57
8 Game           ($0.40)     0 hands +$   0.00
NLO8 Zoom        ($0.02)   645 hands +$   0.29

Tournament Results (-$ 20.92)
9x STT (9 seat)         -$   6.93 (3 cashes)
8x MTT (90 seat)        -$ 10.14 (2 cashes)
1x MTT (8 Game)         -$   3.85

Reflect
I didn't have great results in my cash this month. Sadly this has decimated my bankroll, so will need to drop right down and start working my way back up again. Overall, my PLO is still pretty good over the year (loss of $10) compared to my NLHE which is terrible over the longer term (loss $256) In fairness, my July results are what screwed everything up....

My tournament results have been a little better. Although still having an overall loss, I managed to cash at or better than average which is a good sign.

September will probably need to be re-evaluating my NLHE game to see if I need to make any changes, possibly abandoning NLHE cash for a while in favour of focusing on my Tournament game. Sadly I will need to abandon any hope of playing WCOOP this year, as just don't have the bankroll for the satellites

September 2014 Targets will be as reduced standard:
- Play 400 cash hands on NLHE $0.05 Full Ring (2 table) with target of breaking even
- Play 400 cash hands on PLO $0.05 6-max (2 table) with target of breaking even
- Play 1 session of 8 Game cash with target of breaking even
- Play 4 MTT with target of breaking even

Monday, August 31, 2015

Holiday: Bognor August/Sept 2015

When we bought the flat in Bognor, I had always envisaged we would spend more time in Bognor than at the house during the summer months. Although events conspired against us to prevent that happening until now, finally the stars are aligned and we have got a three week stint down at the flat!

Friday 28th August

Despite our previous holiday, when we’d been down at the flat before the holiday, it still seems a bit weird to logout from work at 4:30pm and be “on holiday” without having to pack and travel somewhere! On the last holiday, we’d had the Goodwood Festival Of Speed to act as a physiological buffer between work and holiday, but this time it’s Bank Holiday weekend and so seeing the Fun Fair setup on the prom soon gets me into the holiday mood (although didn’t actually have a go on anything!)

Felt sick just watching this

Saturday 29th August

We decided to go back to Chichester to finally buy our Silver Wedding anniversary memento's. Lynn had previously seen a nice silver bangle which we got this trip, and I found a nice watch.

Our gifts to ourselves

Being a bank holiday weekend, it seemed all the eating places were heaving, but found a nice pub for our lunch. I was looking to buy some new summer shoes, but perhaps due to it being a rainy day, ended up getting a new rain coat Smile

Chichester was so pleased to see us, there was dancing in the streets

After all the effort of shopping, we had to end up in M&S cafe for our tea and cakes

Back at the flat, it was a case of X Factor and chocolate as the evening entertainment, as we’re fairly lightweight these days!

Sunday 30th August

Although it’s cloudy, it is surprisingly warm and muggy. We finally got to utilise the closest activity to the flat, which is the putting green in Marine Park Gardens. After that we had a nice walk along the beach before going back to the flat for lunch. As it’s so warm, we end up sitting on the beach after lunch, until it gets a bit colder when we retire to the sanctuary of our garden for a little rest.

Beach weather at last….

It’s Bognor Carnival tonight, so we go to watch the procession and fireworks. Eating the portion of chips from the pier chippy was a good idea (despite it being after 10pm) but in hindsight, the biscuits and chocolate back at the flat was perhaps just a little bit too much eating for one day!

Monday 31st August

It’s Bank Holiday Monday, and yes it’s drizzling. We are a bit behind schedule, so decide to relax in the flat until lunchtime Smile Then go into Bognor town for a walk, but end up buying a few bits and pieces as we browse the shops. After the shops, we go into Hotham park and support the new cafe by having a nice cup of tea and cake.

Our evening walk takes us to the Fayre and Square for our dinner. Although not especially busy, the service was very slow and took couple of hours to get our main course and dessert. Luckily we were not in a hurry!

Tuesday 1st September

With the best weather forecast, today has been designated “Beach Day”, so once we’re up and had elevenses, were straight off to the beach. It’s a little chilly when it’s cloudy, but not too bad. The brief snatches of sunny spells makes it immediately hot!

We have a relax until lunchtime, then have lunch back at the flat, then go back for our afternoon session on the beach again. This time, the wind is a bit warmer and the sunny spells are lasting longer, so it’s very pleasant indeed. I even get to have a swim ! Late afternoon it’s getting a bit chilly again as the cloud comes over, so go back to the flat and get ready for our journey out for dinner. In the end, we decide to walk down the prom for our exercise of the day and go to The Regis for dinner. On the way back to the flat, there is a dramatic sunset and it starts to rain, albeit briefly, but gives us an excuse to duck into the pub to wait out the shower.

Weird weather today

Wednesday 2nd September

The weather forecast is for sunny spells again, so decide to go for a long walk to counteract the lazy beach day the day before. We walk up to Pagham with our packed lunch and have a lovely picnic on the beach there.

Are we nearly there yet?

Lunch spot

After another rest in the Pagham Cafe for a cup of tea, we walk back along the beach. Despite being a lot shorter distance, it is more difficult going, so (along with a small diversion due to the path being under water) takes just as long to get back as going the longer road walk.

Don’t fancy a paddle….

We have a welcome rest at the West park cafe for our afternoon cup of tea and (at last!) piece of cake Smile

The short walk back to the flat from there finishes us off, so need a long rest before dinner.

Went to our local Italian Mama Mia for a nice meal, partly as we know it is a very nice restaurant, partly because its about the closest one to us Smile

Dinner time

Thursday 3rd September

Decided to have a “shopping day” at Brighton (despite not really needing to buy anything !)

Got there in just over an hour, so arrived on the beach just after midday for our picnic lunch. It was a bit windy and cool, so decided to go onto the Pier and have lunch sitting on a seat out of the wind!

Then walked around the shopping areas at random, Lynn bought some shampoo and I bought a Sound Bar for the flat, but otherwise all we bought was Tea and Cake in M&S

We didn’t leave until around 6pm so was a lot of walking! As we were worn out, we stopped en route at The Fox pub for our dinner and had a lovely dinner (and pudding in my case)

Friday 4th September

Not got any plans for today, but as our legs are still recovering from our walks this week, it’s a shame it’s not beach weather again. (Did consider sitting on the beach under a blanket but that would be a bit silly Smile )

Ended up having a walk in the morning to do our food shopping in Tesco Express. The sun came out and was thinking we may get a day on the beach after all, but whilst we were sitting in the garden having our lunch, the sun went in again and was very chilly !

Having had a restful morning, decided to walk to the library and then have a walk around Hotham Park (only had a cup of tea, no cake !) then walked around town.

Just a cuppa

By late afternoon our legs were worn out again, so stopped at another of my favourite restaurants on the way back to the flat for dinner at The Navigator Had a lovely meal (and nice rest) before managing to walk the short distance back and had a very long rest in front of the TV

Saturday 5th September

Without having to travel home from holiday, we arbitrarily decided that Saturday was still a holiday day (Means we can eat and drink more than normal Winking smile )

Got the free bus to Sainsbury, which is the other side of town.

Not seen one of these before…

(Earlier in the week we would probably have walked there Smile ) and had a look around the out-of-town superstores around there. Then had a nice interesting walk along various alleyways around to Felpham where we found a nice park to have our picnic lunch.

As lunch was a bit later than normal, we managed to walk past the various cafes along the sea front Sad smile and ended up having a biscuit sitting on the sea front instead of cake !

Must be time to eat again by now..

Headed back to the flat, as we’d managed to have a fairly decent walk, even on a “rest day” so ended up having a quiet evening watching F1 Qualifying, Strictly and X Factor, all in the company of two Pizza Hut pizzas courtesy of a 2 for 1 offer we got through the door…. probably couldn’t moved even if we’d wanted to !

Sunday is a “normal” day so declare our holiday over….. luckily have got another week off in two weeks time, so can do it all again Smile

Mike's Blog

Thursday, December 31, 2015

Poker: End of Year Financial results for 2015

Poker: Financial results for December 2015

Wednesday, December 02, 2015

Poker: Financial results for November 2015

Sunday, November 01, 2015

Poker: Financial results for October 2015

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Poker: Financial results for September 2015

Monday, September 28, 2015

Holiday: Bognor–September 2015

Monday, September 07, 2015

Poker: Financial results for August 2015

Monday, August 31, 2015

Holiday: Bognor August/Sept 2015

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